Practical applications of brassinosteroids in horticulture-Some field perspectives

Brassinosteroids (BS) are a class of polyhydroxylated steroidal plant hormones. They are of ubiquitous occurrence in plant kingdom and are implicated in a wide range of physiological, biochemical and molecular responses in plants, such as seed germination, cell division and elongation, vascular differentiation, photo-morphogenesis, photosynthesis, enzyme activation and senescence. They have also been found to protect plants from various abiotic and biotic stress factors, such as salt, temperature, water, heavy metals and pathogens. BS also enhance the yield of several cereal, legume, and oil seed crops. Moreover, they also increase the fruit production and quality of the fruits, in different plants of horticultural importance. The number of such reports is comparatively lesser, yet an attempt has been made to review such studies and is presented here, comprehensively.